The dreamt land : chasing water and dust across California /

The dreamt land : chasing water and dust across California /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Arax, Mark, 1956- author.
Edition:	First edition.
Imprint:	New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2019. ©2019
Description:	viii, 562 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm
Language:	English
Subject:	Water resources development -- California -- History. Water-supply -- California -- History. Water resources development. Water-supply. California -- History. California. History.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11939340

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9781101875209 1101875208 9781101875216
Notes:	"Borzoi Book"--Title page verso. Includes bibliographical references (pages 531-537) and index.
Summary:	"A vivid, searching journey into California's complicated relationship to its water, from the Gold Rush to today : an epic story of the struggle to overcome the constraints of nature. Mark Arax is from a family of Central Valley farmers, a writer with deep ties to the land, who has watched as the battles over water have intensified even as the state lurches from drought to flood and back again. In The Dreamt Land he travels the state to explore the century-old water distribution system that is straining to keep up with California's relentless growth. This is a heartfelt, beautifully written book about land and the people who work on it, from the gold miners to the ranchers to the small farmers and today's big ag. Since the beginning, Californians have redirected rivers, drilled ever-deeper wells, and pushed the water supplies past their limits. The Dreamt Land brings to life the enterprising figures who have made a fortune off the land, and used that wealth to increase their leverage, as well as the people who have been left behind. It's a story of politics and hubris, but above all it's about the unceasing human ability to make things happen, and to endure in a hostile environment."--Publisher information.
Other form:	Online version: Arax, Mark, 1956- Dreamt land. First edition. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2019 9781101875216
Standard no.:	40029230726

Description
Summary:	A vivid, searching journey into California's capture of water and soil--the epic story of a people's defiance of nature and the wonders, and ruin, it has wrought<br> <br> Mark Arax is from a family of Central Valley farmers, a writer with deep ties to the land who has watched the battles over water intensify even as California lurches from drought to flood and back again. In The Dreamt Land, he travels the state to explore the one-of-a-kind distribution system, built in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, that is straining to keep up with California's relentless growth.<br> <br> The Dreamt Land weaves reportage, history and memoir to confront the "Golden State" myth in riveting fashion. No other chronicler of the West has so deeply delved into the empires of agriculture that drink so much of the water. The nation's biggest farmers--the nut king, grape king and citrus queen--tell their story here for the first time.<br> <br> Arax, the native son, is persistent and tough as he treks from desert to delta, mountain to valley. What he finds is hard earned, awe-inspiring, tragic and revelatory. In the end, his compassion for the land becomes an elegy to the dream that created California and now threatens to undo it.
Item Description:	"Borzoi Book"--Title page verso.
Physical Description:	viii, 562 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 531-537) and index.
ISBN:	9781101875209 1101875208 9781101875216